Year: 1975

Dir: Ramesh Sippy

Cast: Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra

Music: R.D.Burman

 

15th August 1975 is a defining moment in annals of Hindi cinema. It was the day Sholay was released. From that day onwards, any Hindi movie would finally be judged against one film- Sholay. To borrow a quote from the famous director Shekhar Kapoor- “The Indian film history can be divided into Sholay BC and Sholay AD.”

 

Remembering Sholay is perhaps the easiest thing for any Hindi movie-buff because no one has ever forgotten it. This story of a courageous ex-cop village chief plotting revenge against a deadly dacoit with the help of two golden-hearted goons has almost become a folk-lore. The pulsating train fight, the bike-ride in Yeh Dosti, the ingenious jail escape, Jai’s ‘marriage proposal’ for Veeru, Veeru’s ‘suicide’, Gabbar’s ghastly laughter just before cold-bloodedly shooting his failed henchmen, Jai’s tragic death, Thakur’s shoe-nails stomping on Gabbar’s hands----practically every single minute detail of this film has been etched forever in public memory. Countless, equally successful re-runs in theatres and on satellite television have only served to enhance the film’s charm and till today, when anyone is asked to name their favourite Hindi film, the most likely answer is Sholay!

 

This riveting saga of revenge and camaraderie inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurais was penned by Salim – Javed, who not only managed to Indianize the plot but also gave it so many different emotional dimensions. No other film can boast of so many memorable characters. If you were impressed by lead characters like silently seething Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar), amoral to the core bandit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan), happy-go-lucky Veeru (Dharmendra), brooding Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), chatterbox Basanti (Hema Malini) and stoic widow-in-white Radha (Jaya Bhaduri); then interestingly varied side- characters like wacky jailor (Asrani), the mole in the jail- Hariram Naai (Keshto Mukherji), boasting timber merchant Surma Bhopali (Jagdeep), blind Imam (Hungal), old Mausi (Leela Mishra) and dacoits Saambha (McMohan) and Kaalia (Viju Khote) also made their mark.

 

Dwarka Diwecha’s superb cinematography, R.D.Burman’s perfectly tailored music and G.P. Sippy’s lavish production values made Sholay a classic. Director Ramesh Sippy’s brilliance then took it to another level. Sippy’s technical finesse, story-telling ability and eye for detail are stamped on each and every frame- the most telling scene being Thakur coming home after his family’s massacre to watch the shrouded bodies and wind blowing away the white shrouds to expose their faces. It’s a scene that sends shivers down the spine with its implied violence. It’s saying so much without saying anything! That’s art of cinema at its best!